1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of packaging of consumer products. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method of retaining a cylindrical shaped container within a standard shadow carton which has a front opening for displaying the label on the product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A shadow carton is a carton having sidewalls, top and bottom walls, a rear wall, and a front wall panel structure which provide a close fitting frame for a product and in particular, a container, to be displayed and viewed from the front opening of the carton. The problem that has been experienced with ordinary shadow carton packaging is that the cylindrical shaped container can be rotated within the shadow carton packaging resulting in the front label being rotated out of view, and therefore it is often necessary for store clerks to rotate it back into view.
The following ten (10) prior art patents are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,592,338 issued to Hanson et al. on Jul. 13, 1971 for "Display Carton" (hereafter the "Hanson Patent");
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,870 issued to Cote on Aug. 7, 1973 for "Shadow Box Carton" (hereafter the "Cote Patent");
3. U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,035 issued to Jaeschke on Jun. 25, 1974 for "Frame Carton" (hereafter the "Jaeschke Patent");
4. U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,382 issued to Roccaforte on Aug. 26, 1975 for "Tube Display Carton" (hereafter the "'382 Roccaforte Patent");
5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,717 issued to Roccaforte on Jul. 26, 1977 for "Display Carton" (hereafter the "'717 Roccaforte Patent");
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,289 issued to Austin on Mar. 4, 1980 for "Hourglass Carton" (hereafter the "Austin Patent");
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,981 issued to Hamilton on Apr. 15, 1980 for "Self-Locking, Reclosable Carton" (hereafter the "Hamilton Patent");
8. U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,794 issued to Johnston on Nov. 30, 1993 for "Tamper Evident Folding Carton" (hereafter the "Johnston Patent");
9. U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,850 issued to Allsop on Sep. 26, 1995 for "Reclosable Dispensing Carton" (hereafter the "Allsop Patent"); and
10. U.S. Design Pat. No. 372,423 issued to Cook on Aug. 6, 1996 for "Display Container" (hereafter the "Cook Patent").
The Hanson Patent discloses a display carton which is made of one piece of sheet material having a plurality of serially connected panels that form an outer rectangular box unit and an inner shadow panel unit. The shadow panel unit includes a pair of shadow panels which are arranged to present oblique faces to the window opening in the carton.
The Cote Patent discloses a shadow box carton in which an article supporting strap extends completely across the front of the carton. The strap includes foldable articulated gusset members formed from the leading edges of the opposite sidewalls of the carton and integral contiguous portions formed from the front wall of the carton immediately above the uppermost portions of each of the shadow panels. The central portions of the strap bridge the upper edges of the two shadow panels. These central portions are articulated along a vertical score which is collinear with the cut dividing the lower portions of the front panel into the shadow panels.
The Jaeschke Patent discloses a shadow box type package which supports a tube having a crimped end. The carton includes a closure which has a first flap connected to one wall and inclined inwardly toward the opposite wall. The first flap is apertured to receive the tube end, and includes an extension extending to the juncture between the opposite wall and a second flap. The second flap extends across the carton end and includes a tuck flap engageable through the aperture in the first flap.
The '382 Roccaforte Patent discloses a tube display carton for storing and displaying squeeze tubes. It comprises a foldable paperboard having a transverse cut across the upper end of the front panel with the lower section formed into two shadow panels with an opening in the middle to receive a squeeze tube. At the lower end of the opening are secondary shadow panels at a second angle and flaps at the bottom of the opening which are hinged to fold inwardly and frictionally engage and retain the cap in position and to prevent rotation of the cap.
The '717 Roccaforte Patent discloses a display carton. It comprises a top portion and a bottom portion of a front panel in position to frame the article to be displayed and die cut folded sections at the top and bottom of the carton to support and restrain the article away from the end panels of the carton.
The Austin Patent discloses an hourglass carton. It comprises end walls adapted to engage the ends of the article for inhibiting longitudinal movement.
The Hamilton Patent discloses a self-locking, reclosable carton. It comprises a floor panel and sidewall panels. Each sidewall panel has two inner edge panels which are folded inwardly at the ends of the floor panel. The floor panel has outer end panels which are locked in slightly spaced relationship to the inner end panels by tab members which are forced through narrow openings at the edges of the inner end panels.
The Johnston Patent discloses a tamper evident folding carton. It comprises tamper indicating seals at opposite ends, wherein each end comprises four infolded flaps sealed to one another through registered slots in the intermediate flaps. The seals will be triggered by an attempted violation of the carton integrity through the carton side seam.
The Allsop Patent discloses a shaker type reclosable dispensing carton which comprises an intermediate top closure flap. The closure flap has poring holes located in a despressible portion of the flap which can be depressed into the plane of an underlying flap, when the carton is reclosed, to allow a hinged outer closure flap pull-up portion to be depressed into the plane of the intermediate flap to effect a friction type locking closure between the intermediate and outer closure flaps.
The Cook Patent discloses a display container which comprises several display openings.
It is desirable to have a very efficient and also very effective design and construction of an apparatus and method of retaining a cylindrical shaped product within a shadow carton which has means to prevent the front label from rotating out of view, thereby eliminating the need for store clerks to rotate it back into view.